Maintaining and Repairing Your Own Garage Door

Something that all home owners have in common is that they can agree on the fact that maintaining a house is a constant struggle. No matter how careful you are, everything on a house is subject to wear and tear due to weather, time, or even accidents.

The place where you store your vehicle is no exception to this rule and the garage door is perhaps one of the most commonly damaged parts of any given house. As such, performing a garage door repair is something that everyone should learn, at least for straightforward issues. First of all, you should start by familiarizing yourself with the type of garage door that you own. This will be exceedingly useful in the long run as there are specific issues that affect different types of garage doors.

With that said, the specific type does not always matter as all garage doors need to be maintained properly unless you are willing to risk running into problems faster than usual. Simple things like tightening the screws, cleaning or repairing a dusty and rusty track, and even replacing the rollers when they are too worn out are necessary to ensure the longevity of your garage door.

Weather is another issue which might be more important, depending on where you live. Cold and rainy weather can cause a variety of issues even in garage doors that are properly equipped to handle bad weather conditions. For instance, the weather seals can crack over time which means that they will need to be replaced by another seal of rubber or silicone. Lubricating certain parts with spray-on grease is a cheap and easy way of eliminating noise and reducing wear. In addition to that, it can help you perform repairs that require you to slide items such as the weather seals into place.

Performing garage door repairs by yourself is good for the ego but there are certain things that require special attention to avoid serious injury. The springs, for example, should be handled by professionals as they are under constant tension which can be released violently with a simple misstep. Finally, you should always ensure that the automatic opener is disabled and that the door is properly secured before you work under it. Hurting yourself is not worth the risk just to save a few bucks because, as they say, it is better to be safe than sorry.